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tumble

tum·ble/ˈtʌmbl̩/noun, verb

tumble is spelled T-U-M-B-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (tum·ble). It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tumble means “A fall, especially end over end” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tumble is tumbles.

How many letters and syllables are in tumble?

Letters6: T-U-M-B-L-E
Syllables2: tum·ble
In writing2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is tumble?

Tumble appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce tumble?

  • /ˈtʌmbl̩/
  • /ˈtʊmbl̩/

Tumble has 2 syllables, split tum·ble in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tumble.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of tumble

  • tumbles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • tumbling participle, present
  • tumbled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does tumble mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A fall, especially end over end.

    I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.

  2. 2

    A disorderly heap.

  3. 3

    informalAn act of sexual intercourse.

verb

  1. 1

    To fall end over end; to roll over and over.

  2. 2

    To throw headlong.

  3. 3

    To perform gymnastics such as somersaults, rolls, and handsprings.

  4. 4

    To drop rapidly.

    Share prices tumbled after the revelation about the company's impending failure.

  5. 5

    To smooth and polish (e.g. gemstones or pebbles) by means of a rotating tumbler.

  6. 6

    informalTo have sexual intercourse.

  7. 7

    To move or rush in a headlong or uncontrolled way.

  8. 8

    To muss, to make disorderly; to tousle or rumple.

    to tumble a bed

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Tumble in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchculbute (a fall), dégringoler, culbuter (to fall end over end)
GermanSturz, Fall, Überschlag, Absturz, Purzelbaum, Rolle (a fall)
Portuguesetombo (a fall), cair (to fall end over end)
Spanishcaída (a fall), caer, revolverse (to fall end over end)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does tumble come from?

From Middle English tumblen (“to fall over and over again, tumble”), frequentative of Middle English tumben (“to fall, leap, dance”), from Old English tumbian, from Proto-West Germanic *tumbōn, tūmōn, from Proto-Germanic *tumbōną, tūmōną (“to turn, rotate”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after tumble